The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

[nolan887]

UCF @ Marshall

KNIGHTS RECORD ANOTHER ROAD WIN, BLOW OUT MARSHALL

#24 UCF Knights 25-3 (14-1) at Marshall Thundering Herd 12-16 (6-9)
Cam Henderson Center
Huntington, WV
March 5, 2014

Huntington, WV - With their new ranking, the UCF Knights went to town on the Marshall Herd tonight. Kody Kleinzweig and Pearson Shannon had great games putting up 21 and 18 points respectively. Tom Braun played solid defense for Marshall, but foul trouble kept him out most of the game. In his limited time he was still able to record 16 points 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 2 blocks for the Herd. Chadd Goodson also had a good game for Marshall recording 15 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Aside from those two Marshall players, nobody scored more than 9 points for the Herd. The Knights turned the ball over 10 times which is much higher than their previous games, but still managed to win the battle 10-12.

"Some people were saying that we should rest our starers... they are wrong," Nolan boldly proclaimed after the win. "Why let guys get cold on the bench and try to make excuses come tournament time? We went back to basics in this one just pounding the rock down low as you can see in the box score. Dom had a pretty solid game as well with 10 points, shooting 3-6 from downtown. We are now focused on our last home game of the season and our senior night. It is going to be hard to say goodbye to Kleinzweig, Hill, and Neal with their huge contributions on offense this year."

Kleinzweig's contributions have been well documented this season. Standing at 7' tall, he will certainly be a hard player to replace next year. His shear size and power have been a huge benefit to the team all year. The Knights will close out their season at home against the lowly SMU Mustangs next game. With a win over the Mustangs, the Knights will have gone the entire season without losing a game on their home court.

Central Florida (25-3) at Marshall (12-16)
March 5, 2014 1 2 F #24 Central Florida 43 43 86 Marshall 23 42 65 Top Performers Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 21 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl Pearson Shannon - 18 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Blk Marshall - Stats Tom Braun - 16 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 Blk Chadd Goodson - 15 Pts, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk	Team Stat Comparison UCF MU FG Made-Attempted 32-58 23-54 3P Made-Attempted 3-6 2-14 FT Made-Attempted 19-30 17-21 Rebounds 36 23 Assists 18 15 Steals 9 9 Blocks 2 3 Turnovers 10 12

[nolan887]

UCF vs. Southern Methodist

SENIORS SHINE IN LAST HOME GAME

#24 UCF Knights 26-3 (15-1) at Southern Methodist Mustangs 7-17 (4-12)
UCF Arena
Orlando, FL
March 8, 2014

Orlando, FL - UCF's seniors refused to let SMU take any part in tonight's game. Kody Kleinzweig and Dominik Hill absolutely tore the roof down in UCF Arena in their last home game ever. Not to be outdone by each other, they both scored over 25 points and could not be stopped. Kleinzweig had 30 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1 steal while Hill had 28 points, 4-10 from deep, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Since arriving at UCF, Nolan has turned the C-USA bottom feeders into a conference champion and had attendance at nearly 50% (5,000 people), up from 30% at the beginning of the season.

"What a great way to close out at home," an emotional Nolan commented. "Kody and Dom showed us all what they are capable of and really put on a show for all of us to sit back and appreciate. I know it was hard for them having a new coach coming in for their senior season, but they have been great all year and I am so proud of both of them. Lets keep this going into the conference tourney, we've already beat everyone at least once!"

The Knights have 1 conference loss this season, and avenged that loss in a big way against Tulsa in Orlando. #10 Memphis, the perennial C-USA winner, looks to be the only real challenge UCF has in the tournament, but the Knights knocked the Tigers off earlier in the season already. With a projected seed of #4 in the NCAA Tournament, the Knights are a lock for the tourney even if they do not win their conference tournament. If Coach Nolan can keep up the solid coaching, he may have a chance for his first ever 30 win season. The Knights have a first round bye in their conference bracket and will play their first game on March 13th.

Southern Methodist (7-17) at Central Florida (26-3)
March 8, 2014 1 2 F Southern Methodist 33 27 60 #24 Central Florida 39 46 85 Top Performers Southern Methodist - Stats Jerald Rush - 22 Pts (4-9 3pt), 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk Noah Dean - 13 Pts (3-3 3pt), 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 30 Pts, 10 Reb, 3 Blk, 1 Stl Dominik Hill - 28 Pts (4-10 3pt), 5 Reb, 2 Stl	Team Stat Comparison SMU UCF FG Made-Attempted 21-58 29-72 3P Made-Attempted 10-22 5-11 FT Made-Attempted 8-8 22-27 Rebounds 25 43 Assists 16 11 Steals 7 10 Blocks 5 8 Turnovers 14 7

[nolan887]

Pre-Tourney

PRE-CONFERENCE TOURNEY UPDATE

Orlando, FL - Before the conference tournaments start, we take a step back to look at the final standings for Conference USA, the other conference winners, and teams who are on the bubble. The bubble teams will likely need to win their conference tournaments to make the big dance. It is interesting to note that with #10 Memphis and the UCF Knights making the tournament outright, there are still two more teams from C-USA on the bubble.

Conference USA Standings:
1. UCF Knights: 26-3 (15-1)
2. #10 Memphis Tigers: 24-7 (12-4)
3. ECU Pirates: 20-11 (10-6)
4. Houston Cougars: 20-8 (9-7)
-- Tulane Green Wave: 19-9 (9-7)
6. Rice Owls: 18-13 (7-9)
-- Marshall Thundering Herd: 13-16 (7-9)
8. Tulsa Golden Hurricane: 12-13 (6-10)
-- UAB Blazers: 17-13 (6-10)
-- Southern Miss Golden Eagles: 15-12 (6-10)
11. UTEP Miners: 12-17 (5-11)
12. Southern Methodist Mustangs: 7-17 (4-12)

Conference Champions:
American East - Vermont Catamounts
Atlantic Coast - Miami Hurricanes
Atlantic Sun - Stetson Hatters
Atlantic 10 - Xavier Musketeers
Big East - Pittsburgh Panthers & Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Big Sky - Weber State
Big South - High Point
Big Ten - Michigan State
Big 12 - Iowa State & Texas Tech
Big West - Cal Poly Tech [UC Davis 2nd]
Colonial - Drexel
Conf. USA - UCF
Horizon - Wright State
Ivy - Columbia [Princeton 2nd]
Metro Atlantic - Siena
Mid-American - Buffalo
Mid-Eastern - Coppin State
Mountain Valley - Evansville
Mountain West - Colorado State & Wyoming [UNLV 5th]
Northeast - Wagner
Ohio Valley - Eastern Kentucky
Pac 10 - Arizona & California
Patriot - Lafayette [Army 8th]
Southeastern - Florida
Southern - Western Carolina [Wofford 8th]
Southland - Texas A&M Corpus Christi
South West - Grambling & Prairie View
Summit - Southern Utah
Sun Belt - UL Lafayette [UALR T-10th]
West Coast - Gonzaga [San Francisco T-7th]
Western - Nevada [Boise State 7th]

On the Bubble:
Missouri 19-11 (9-7 Big 12)
Duquesne 19-10 (9-7 A-10)
Arizona State 20-10 (10-8 Pac 10)
Oregon 20-10 (10-8 Pac 10)
Kansas 19-10 (10-6 Big 12)
Louisville 20-10 (12-6 Big East)
UMass 21-8 (10-6 A-10)
Tulane 19-9 (9-7 C-USA)
St. Joseph's 20-9 (8-8 A-10)
George Washington 19-11 (9-7 A-10)
East Carolina 20-11 (10-6 C-USA)
Tennessee 19-9 (7-9 SEC)
Troy 22-7 (13-5 Sun Belt)
Wisc. Green Bay 22-8 (12-6 Horizon)
Vermont 25-5 (15-1 AEC)

[nolan887]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED

The top four seeds in the conference receive a first round bye and will not play until March 13 in the Quarterfinals. The First Round begins March 12 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. All games of the C-USA Tournament will be played in the FedEx Forum. While Memphis and UCF are in the NCAA tournament regardless of how they play, ECU and Tulane are two teams that are on the bubble and will need to make a deep run to have any chance of making the big dance.

[nolan887]

C-USA Tourney Round 1

ROUND 1: UPSET CITY
FedEx Forum
Memphis, TN
March 12, 2014

Memphis, TN - The Conference USA tournament kicked off today and proved to be very exciting. The only non-underdog team going into the games that won were the Rice Owls. This is bad news for Tulane as they were trying to solidify an at large bid for the NCAA tournament. The next round start tomorrow night, March 13. Will anyone from the first round be able to knock off their superior conference foes in the Quarterfinals? Will UCF drop another game on the road? Will Memphis make the most with their home court advantage?

[nolan887]

C-USA Tourney Quarterfinals

ROUND 2: A A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING IN THE QUARTERFINALS
FedEx Forum
Memphis, TN
March 13, 2014

Memphis, TN - The extra rest seemed to grealy help the UCF Knights as they blew out the hapless Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. During their only meeting in the regular season, Southern Miss is one of the only teams that was able to keep the score close the entire game. Although they were ranked tenth in the conference, they matched up very well against the Knights. In the end, the Knights' relentless offensive attack proved to be too much for the tired Souther Miss defense. Kody Kleinzweig contributed 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. Dominik Hill also came up huge shooting 4-4 from downtown and scoring 17 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist. The Knights next opponent are the 12 seed in the tournament, the bottom-feeding Southern Methodist Mustangs. The Mustangs finished their regular season by getting blown out by UCF in Orlando and ended up finishing 12 of 12 in the conference.

"We certainly made the best of our extra day off," Coach Nolan commented after the win. "We went back and watched tape on Southern Miss and tried to figure out what we did so wrong last time against them. Kody and Dom took their momentum from senior night and kept it going all game today as well. Every win is a big win at this point in the season, now we are off to prepare for Southern Methodist."

Southern Miss at Central Florida
March 13, 2014 1 2 F #10 Southern Miss 24 33 57 #1 Central Florida 44 45 89 Top Performers Southern Miss - Stats Belton Bates - 16 Pts, 2 REb, 5 Ast, 3 Stl Charlie Bozek - 12 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzwig - 26 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 Stl Dominik Hill - 17 Pts (4-4 3 pt), 2 Reb, 1 Ast	Team Stat Comparison USM UCF FG Made-Attempted 22-59 30-60 3P Made-Attempted 4-17 4-5 FT Made-Attempted 9-15 25-36 Rebounds 27 32 Assists 11 21 Steals 6 13 Blocks 7 4 Turnovers 17 6

In other news around the touranment, the ECU Pirates, who were on the bubble with Tulane, succumed to the same fate. It will be hard for either team to make the NCAA tournament due to their poor play in the conference tournament. The Rice Owls who had fallen off since mid-season were able to come up with a win over the Pirates. Southern Methodist found their UCF match up by beating the #4 seeded Houston Cougars, a match up nightmare for the Knights. Finally, the Memphis Tigers were able to easily dispatch of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a 23 point win on their home court.

[Deuce2223]

Re: C-USA Tourney Quarterfinals

Good luck. Looks like its going to be a Memphis vs UCF for the Championship..

By the way love the brackets...

[nolan887]

C-USA Tourney Semifinals

ROUND 3: NOTHING TO SEE HERE PEOPLE, MOVE ALONG
FedEx Forum
Memphis, TN
March 13, 2014

Memphis, TN - While a match up of Southern Methodist and Rice in the conference finals may sound fun to some, it did not sound fun to the Memphis Tigers or the UCF Knights. The Knights started off the game with three huge dunks by Kody Kleinzweig and seemingly broke the Mustangs' spirit right out of the gates. After the 6-0 lead, the Knights would stretch it to 14-0 before Southern Methodist decided to start playing offense. The Knights led the entire 40 minutes and proved once again why they are the #1 seed in this tournament. Kody Kleinzweig was a monster and ended the game with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 1 steal. Filling in for a foul-troubled Shannon was Armando Ross who has been big off the bench all year. Ross recorded 14 points and 2 rebounds in his limited play. The Knights will now face off against the Memphis Tigers. UCF beat the Tigers in Orlando earlier this season by getting their big men in foul trouble early and capitalizing. The Tigers will likely be looking for blood in this game, as the Knights took the conference tournament that Memphis had won six out of the last seven years.

"We really blew them out on senior night and it looked like it was going to be more of the same," Coach Nolan commented. "They hung around all game, but the lead was never closer than 10 points. Kody has been playing out of his mind lately and it is just fantastic. Playing Memphis here tomorrow will definitely be our biggest challenge of the season. We beat them last time, but you have to remember we were at home. The students and fans from the other C-USA teams that are here to watch will surely be rooting for an upset, so this atmosphere will be very hostile. Hopefully we can come out with a win and really solidify our place atop C-USA."

Southern Methodist at Central Florida
March 14, 2010 1 2 F #12 Southern Methodist 32 34 66 #1 Central Florida 35 43 78 Top Performers Southern Methodist - Stats Clifford Jefferson - 14 Pts, 3 Reb, 4 Ast Noah Dean - 13 Pts, 2 Ast, 3 Stl Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 31 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Blk, 1 Stl Armando Ross - 14 Pts, 2 Reb	Team Stat Comparison SMU UCF FG Made-Attempted 25-53 30-56 3P Made-Attempted 3-15 1-4 FT Made-Attempted 13-15 17-25 Rebounds 25 24 Assists 17 19 Steals 8 11 Blocks 3 5 Turnovers 13 8

[nolan887]

Re: C-USA Tourney Quarterfinals

Good luck. Looks like its going to be a Memphis vs UCF for the Championship..

Good prediction, you posted while I was doing the writeup haha! Hopefully I will be able to beat them again, but in all honesty I think I just got lucky when they came to Orlando. Either way, I'm in the NCAA Tournament and hopefully can make a run.

By the way love the brackets...

Thanks, I figured it would take a little bit more time, but it is easier to read a bracket than it is to read through text.

I'm off to play the C-USA Championship now and will post the results and the NCAA Tourney preview this afternoon.

[nolan887]

C-USA Tourney Finals

ROUND 4: UCF FIGHTS BACK FOR HUGE WIN
FedEx Forum
Memphis, TN
March 15, 2014

Memphis, TN - The UCF Knights under the reigns of Coach Nolan just refuse to lose. Memphis dominated the game the entire first half going into halftime with a six point lead. The second half was more of the same, and Memphis went up by as much as 12 points. With only two minutes left in the game, the Knights were down 8 points. J.J. Bone brought the ball down the court and dumped it off to Dominik Hill, who had been shut down all night. Dominik Hill nonchalantly drained a three pointer like it was no big deal, cutting the lead to five. The Tigers brought the ball down and held as long as possible to shorten the game but missed a three pointer with 3 left in the shot clock. Again, Bone brought the ball down and dumped it to Hill, but this time Memphis made the mistake of fouling him on the three point attempt. While falling to the floor, Hill looked up just in time to see his shot swish through the net. With his trip to the line, he could complete the four point play and cut the lead to just one point. However, he did not make his free throw and convert the four point play. His shot clanked off the right side of the rim... right into Kody Kleinzweig's hands. With the ball under the bucket, Kleinzweig knew just what to do. The seven footer jumped up and slammed the ball home igniting the entire crowd. The Knights would then play stellar defense and get sent to the line with 3 seconds left on the clock shooting one-and-one. Shannon, who was cold from the line all night sank the first shot to put the Knights up 73-72. Shannon intentionally missed the second free throw and as time expired the Knights and all of their fans rushed the court for their winning the C-USA tournament for the first time in the history of their school.

"It was an amazing win for us," an ecstatic Coach Nolan near-cried. "I thought we had given up with about four minutes left and let the players know what I thought about that with a few choice words not fit for this interview. I guess it worked because Hill got the hot hand and almost erased the deficit by himself. It was great again to see our two senior stars single-handedly take the game over down the stretch and win it for us. Now we just have to wait for Selection Sunday to see who we get matched up with in the tourney!"

Memphis at Central Florida
March 15, 2014 1 2 F #2 Memphis 40 32 72 #1 Central Florida 34 39 73 Top Performers Memphis - Stats Jayson Wisniewski - 13 Pts, 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk Terence Ravello - 12 Pts, 8 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 17 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Stl, 2 Blk Dominik Hill - 13 Pts, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl	Team Stat Comparison UM UCF FG Made-Attempted 28-61 28-60 3P Made-Attempted 4-15 2-6 FT Made-Attempted 12-20 15-26 Rebounds 35 28 Assists 17 17 Steals 8 13 Blocks 9 2 Turnovers 20 10

ECU and Tulane were both on the bubble going into the conference tournament, but seemed to have played themselves out. Hopefully for them they will be able to claim a bid to the NIT. Memphis, ranked #10 going into the tournament, will still receive and at large bid to the dance and the UCF Knights will make the tourney with their automatic conference bid.

[nolan887]

Selection Sunday

SELECTION COMMITTEE RELEASES 2014 MARCH MADNESS BRACKETS

Orlando, FL - With their regular season conference title and conference tournament title wins, the UCF Knights have been given a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Knights will be playing in the West Region. The higher seeds in their region are #1 USC, #2 Miami, and #3 California. All three of these teams have consistently been at the tops of the Media Top 25 polls all season. The Knights have again cracked into the Top 25 with their latest win against Memphis and are headed into the tournament ranked #23 in the nation.

NCAA Basketball Rankings - AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Michigan State Spartans	30-3	15-3
2	Arizona Wildcats	29-4	14-4
3	Maryland Terrapins	27-5	12-4
4	Florida Gators	25-6	13-5
5	USC Trojans	25-6	13-5
6	Wisconsin Badgers	27-6	14-4
7	Miami Hurricanes	26-5	13-3
8	California Golden Bears	24-7	14-4
9	Memphis Tigers	26-8	12-4
10	Illinois Fighting Illini	25-8	14-4
11	Ohio State Buckeyes	23-8	13-5
12	Iowa State Cyclones	25-6	11-5
13	Gonzaga Bulldogs	29-4	14-0
14	Texas Longhorns	24-11	9-7
15	Pittsburgh Panthers	23-9	13-5
16	Saint Louis Bilikens	26-6	11-5
17	Auburn Tigers	27-6	12-4
18	Syracuse Orange	24-8	12-6
19	NC State Wolfpack	23-10	9-7
20	Xavier Musketeers	25-9	14-2
21	Vanderbilt Commodores	21-8	11-5
22	Texas A&M Aggies	23-10	9-7
23	UCF Knights	29-3	15-1
24	Duke Blue Devils	20-11	9-7
25	Nevada Wolf Pack	29-4	16-0

Bubble Watch:
Last 5 In: Last 5 Out:
Missouri St. Joseph's
George Washington East Carolina
Louisville Tulane
Kansas Tennessee
UMass Troy

Conference Breakdown:
This year has found it's tournament with very few non power conference teams represented. The top nine conferences had more than one team make the tournament, but the rest only had their conference tournament champion enter the big dance. The conference rankings follow:

1 - ACC - 5 teams
2 - Pac 10 - 6 teams
3 - Big 12 - 7 teams
4 - SEC - 4 teams
5 - Big East - 7 teams
6 - Big Ten - 5 teams
7 - C-USA - 3 teams
8 - A-10 - 5 teams

Other Notables: UNLV received an NIT bid, ranked as a #4 seed.

Regional Brackets Released:

[Deuce2223]

Re: Selection Sunday

Congrats on the Conference Title win. #4 Seed is solid. Can't believe Kansas is a #12 though either way you got a tough game in Round 2.


Very happy to see the Pac-10 playing well and the A-10. Wow. On par with the power conferences..

[nolan887]

Re: Selection Sunday

Congrats on the Conference Title win. #4 Seed is solid. Can't believe Kansas is a #12 though either way you got a tough game in Round 2.


Very happy to see the Pac-10 playing well and the A-10. Wow. On par with the power conferences..

Thanks. I'm going to just do my game updates until (if) I lose, and then update the whole brackets. I think it would be too much to go round by round like I did for the conference tournament.

[nolan887]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

UCF HOLDS ON TO ADVANCE TO ROUND 2

#4 UCF Knights (30-3) vs. #12 Southern Utah Thunderbirds (25-7)
Cox Arena
San Diego, CA
March 20, 2014

San Diego, CA - The UCF Knights struggled the keep Southern Utah's two 7'-2" big men under control, but managed to hang on for a win in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Knights were able to keep the big men out for most of the first half and went into the half up sixteen points. However, the Thunderbirds came out hot and almost fought back in the second half. The Knights turned in a total team effort and spread the ball around all game. Seniors Kody Kleinzweig and Dominik Hill led the Knights in scoring with 13 and 12 points respectively. Since senior night in Orlando, both players have had the hot hand from the floor.

"It is always great to win in the post season," Coach Nolan commented. "Southern Utah had a great season and came in hot off their Summit League conference tournament win. I can't believe they have two guys down low that are both 7'-2" tall and we haven't heard about them all season! They were definitely a match-up nightmare for us. Mainly the reason Kody could only get 13 points today, which is way down from his season average. We look forward to finding out who we get in round two which is either Texas A&M or Kansas."

The Texas A&M Aggies are coming into the tournament hot off of their Big 12 conference tournament win. The Aggies also cracked the top 25 for the first time after their tournament win. At the end of the season, the Aggies were ranked #22 in the nation. Kansas on the other hand sputtered down the stretch and ended up as a bubble team and one of the last five teams in. The Jayhawks are rated higher than the Aggies, but A&M is ranked as a 5 seed and Kansas is a 12. 12-5 match ups are prone to upsets in the tournament, but UCF would likely have an easier game if the Aggies pulled through. Either way, the Knights' next game will be held on Saturday, March 22.

Southern Utah at Central Florida
March 20, 2014 1 2 F #13 Southern Utah 24 35 59 #4 Central Florida 40 26 66 Top Performers Southern Utah - Stats Pete Clement - 13 Pts, 2 Reb, 1 Stl Cliffone Welch - 10 Pts, 9 reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk Central Florida - Stats Kody Kleinzweig - 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl Dominik Hill - 12 Pts, 3 Reb, 1 Ast	Team Stat Comparison SUU UCF FG Made-Attempted 22-51 22-59 3P Made-Attempted 5-14 0-5 FT Made-Attempted 10-12 22-33 Rebounds 32 36 Assists 16 12 Steals 2 10 Blocks 3 1 Turnovers 14 3

[nolan887]

Re: The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

ROUND 1 UPDATE: SO FAR, SO GOOD

March 21, 2014

The opening round concluded today and the Round 2 games will be held tomorrow, Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23. The top four seeds from each region escaped upsets and the highest seed to lose their first game was #5 Texas A&M who lost to #12 Kentucky. Kentucky, who went cold down the stretch of the regular season made it into the tournament with an at large bid. Their match up in round two is against a hot UCF team who has not lost a game since January 15th. During their hot streak, they have twice knocked off the Memphis Tigers, ranked #9 in the nation and a #3 seed in the tournament. Kansas will have to contain Kody Kleinzweig, UCF's 7'-0" big man down low who has been a dominant force all year for the Knights.